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Giveaway: The Novel Cure

I don't have to tell book lovers that reading is often the best medicine for the body and soul. Getting lost between the pages of a good book can at least temporarily soothe a broken heart, distract from the throbs of a toothache, or stave off the urge to transgress. The writers behind The Novel Cure, Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin, capitalize on just that.

Grieving the death of a loved one? Try Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer or Here is Where We Meet by John Berger. Have a speech impediment? Read Black Swan Green by David Mitchell. Experiencing some generic turmoil? Home by Marilyn Robinson. Plagued with an episode of vanity? Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray is for you. Are you in a cult? Philip Roth's American Pastoral will help you out. Do you feel like an idiot? You guessed it- Fydor Dostoyevsky's The Idiot should be added to your list. Besides 751 book "prescriptions," there are also several lists that will help when you are "locked out," needing "audiobooks for road rage," or "trying to turn your partner onto fiction." There are also dedicated sections for reading ailments, including having too many books, losing those you lend out, and not being able to finish what you start.

The book perfectly mixes the serious (miscarriage, cancer, death, unemployment) with the humorous (being too short, hemorrhoids, not having enough sex/having too much sex). There are also some great tongue-in-cheek jabs ("homophobia" is a in need of cure, and if you find being a traffic cop something that ails you then you can see also "nobody likes you"). Whether you sit down and read it front to back, use it for reference, or give it as a gift this book is perfect for book lovers. And if anything, it will most definitely increase the size of your book wish list.

The nice folks at Penguin provided me with a copy and are also willing to send one lucky US resident (sorry!) a book of their own. I don't usually do giveaways, but I really love this book... and they're willing to do the mailing (I hate the post office, what can I say?). To enter this giveaway leave a comment below describing a book that you think can cure a particular ailment (or just tell me what you're reading right now if you can't think of anything). I'll pick a winner at random next Wednesday, so watch out. Good kharma points if you tweet the link or mention it in your post. Thanks for playing!

8 comments:

"Wild" by Cheryl Strayed has effectively cured me of EVER thinking backpacking a wilderness trail would be a good vacation idea as well as curing me of the foolish desire to.change my name to something seemingly witty but ultimately stupid (aka "starved").

"Deep Down Dark" will be the first novel in over a year that I get to enjoy. My literary life has consisted exclusively of text books on education and instructional strategies. I am hopeful that it will be a cure for many things, mainly workaholism, and boring teacheritis.

Reading The Accidental Creative and just finished Walden on Wheels. It definitely cured me of ever wanting to live in a van but it also has me thinking about materialism and has inspired a simpler Christmas this year.